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The Harrisons + I Say Marvin + Virile + The Mark 9's
Saturday, 06 October 2007
The Bivouac, Lincoln
5 October 2007
Photos & Review by Pete
The Biv, the sweaty soul of the live music scene here in Lincoln and giving us a Friday night with as diverse a range of sounds as anything Jules Holland’s Later ever came up with. Astonishing.
There was a good crowd outside which minutes before The Mark 9’s opened suddenly piled up the stairs and filled the room.
Without
so much as a word from any of the three members of the band they just freaked
into their first song with an energy that was unexpectedly savage. Mixing
sax and bass and drums it was something fresh and full of surprise and conviction.
Absolutely sorted structurally, all the way through, with nothing messy or rambling.
Full of intent and yet played with something close to abandon. Now that’s
impressive. Intriguingly there were no vocals at all, nothing, no banter,
no naming of songs or sappy ‘this is our new one’ or ‘you can
find us at Myspace at’ - no no no - just the music on on on. Full
on. Steve on sax, Luke on bass and Bryce on drums. As the set progressed
the crowd moved in closer and got more excited and into it. Every now
and then at a gig you get that little thrill of euphoria, it always comes as
a surprise and it leaves a mark on you for ever, somewhere invisible.
This one I’ve got now is the mark of the Mark 9’s. Special mention
to Luke, the dandy on the bass guitar, which was sounding spectacularly, disdainfully
dark. It was as if the strings had been slackened off a tad then played
unrepentantly, recklessly and what should have been awkward and challenging
was somehow completely accessible. Whatever the wayward heritage of this
band’s sound I feel lucky that they currently reside in my town.
Blissed fall out from this one. 
Virile’s
lineage is New York by Manchester. They opened with a simple, forceful
synching of guitars and drums, four guys pushing out a forceful beat that gets
you up out of bed and ready to go without any breakfast after just the first
grinding opening bars. Then as soon as you’re safely buckled up they
pull off a little handbrake turn of a key change and swing round their direction
then just when you’re dazzled by that effect they hit that accelerator
again and you’’re pinned back. They sound big, like an articulated
lorry, traveling at speed, on an icy road - and it’s fuckin’ amazin’
fun! More more more faster faster! Lanky Paul delivers his vocals
in a kinda monotonous cartoon character voice which also has something of The
Fall about it which is enough of a reason to back off questioning it too much.
But it’s curious and gives the band an unexpected funny quirkiness.
Irreplaceable drummer Lizzie has recently been replaced and has hung around
a while to help Jimmy the new guy to attempt the impossible and be confident
enough to go for it - to the point of destruction of his sticks with splinters
flying as he lashed off the ripped skins. Yeah, this is a powerhouse band
and their material has a lot of credibility, a sound that once it gets in gear
just keeps right on coming. With the two local bands having played it was time for the visitors - and some people stayed to listen! Supporting The Harrisons on
their
tour are I Say Marvin, from Cornwall. Unsigned but not unloved
plenty of people stuck around to enjoy them and again it was a complete change
of style. Emotronic pop! Looking young enough to be the kid brothers
of The Harrisons (if not their sons) they must be hyper excited to be playing
gigs all over the country and not just in their home town - and they won everyone
over both with their sheer energy and some sparkly songs. Their work-rate
extended to some punky showcase stage moves and it’s kinda a miracle no-one
got hurt considering the limited space available. They all got through
it undamaged and still coming on with the attack all the way to the end.
I Say Marvin, you are an heroic little band. 
embarrassing
but fortunately it didn’t unnerve them - they look lived-in blokes who’d
maybe take a helluva lot to do that. Despite the fact none of the band
are actually named Harrison they do have to have respect for keeping it real,
cos they are an honest band who must have put the work in and kept gigging year
in year out and so have earned their chance of some wider recognition.
Hm. The issue for me, though, is whether they have the edge that is gonna
get them it. While the songs happily don’t have much of that bandwagon
Arctics sound going on they seem to lack any engaging identity of their own.
If this band was from Lincoln they’d have a small hardcore fanbase but
wouldn’t get a look in outside the local circuit. Lead singer Adam
Taylor comes across as a dedicated songwriter and seasoned performer but for
me there’s something missing and for a horrible moment at the end I felt
really guilty for being tempted to label them a pub band. (I still feel
a fuckin’ twat writing it now.) They’re not that but in my opinion
they’re not realistic contenders to engage the nation’s hearts either.
Ah.